Help‐seeking beliefs for mental disorders among medical and nursing students

AIM: The current study aimed to investigate beliefs about help‐seeking, treatment options and expected outcomes for people with alcohol abuse, dementia, depression, obsessive‐compulsive disorder and schizophrenia, using a vignette‐based approach, among a sample of nursing and medical students. METHODS: This was a cross‐sectional online study among medical and nursing students (n = 1002) who were randomly assigned 1 of 5 vignettes. Questions were asked about whom could best help the person in the vignette, the likely helpfulness of a broad range of interventions, and the likely outcome for the person in the vignette with and without appropriate help. RESULTS: A total of 45.1% of students recommended seeing a psychiatrist, which was the most common source of help reported for all 5 vignettes. Help‐seeking preferences were significantly associated with age, academic year and vignette type. Respondents rated seeing a psychiatrist as the most helpful intervention (92.4%) and dealing with the problem on their own as the most harmful (68.1%). Then, 81.5% of students indicated that the condition of the person in the vignette would worsen if appropriate help was not sought. CONCLUSION: Medical and nursing students most commonly recommended seeking help from a psychiatrist for mental health‐related problems, where help‐seeking preferences were associated with various age, academic year and vignette type. As these students will be the future medical and nursing workforce, they need to be equipped with the skills and ability to recognize signs and symptoms of mental illness, to aid timely and appropriate treatment for people with mental illness.